I spy with my little eye

We've all played the classic version of "I spy with my little eye". Now here are some interesting variations to appeal to young and old. Word games are especially good for long car journeys — even the driver can join in some of these.

Good eyesight is a great help when you are playing "spotting" games, and our first "I spy" ideas will soon tell you how good your sight really is. Incidentally, these are not suitable to try from a fast-moving car, but are perfect the next time you go out for a walk...

Can you tell the color of someone's eyes from 100 yards' or metres' distance?

Can you count the buttons on a jacket from 150 yards or metres?

Can you see faces — at least as white blobs — from 300 yards or metres?

Can you distinguish between a pedestrian, a cyclist and a rider on horseback from a distance of 1,000 yards or metres?

If you can answer "Yes" truthfully to all these questions, you have good eyesight.

Little children from three years old love easy "I spy" games and will spend hours playing happily in the back seat of a car. Start them off by setting an easy subject for them to spot: a motorbike, train, letter-box or a policeman, for example. Or, specify a particular color of car, and give the first child to spot 10 cars of that color a small reward.

For older children, you can set harder targets including a particular make of car, or try these three versions of more complicated spotting games involving figures.

Games with number plates
See who can be first to read the figures and letters on the number plate of an approaching car. If nobody gets it right, the winner is the player who was nearest the actual registration.

Look for number plates where the figures are in sequence (ie: 1, 2, 3, etc) or where the number contains double figures (33, 55 etc). The first to spot 10 of these is the winner.

Between yourselves agree upon a number. Now look for a number plate with figures that will total up to the number you had selected.

Spot the signs
Agree with all the occupants of the car to look for a particular road sign. Either the first to spot it is the winner, or — if it's a common sign — the first to spot 10 like it.

Each passenger elects to look out for one particular road sign — traffic lights, signposts, etc — the first to spot 20 of his sign is the winner. If there are only two of you playing, one could look out for all the compulsory road signs, while the other could count the warning signs along a stretch of the journey. The one who has spotted the greater number wins. (Incidentally, you will find a guide to which signs are which in the Highway Code.)

Before your outing, make a pack of at least forty cards, each illustrating a road traffic sign. As you are leaving, shuffle the pack, and deal one card to each passenger. The first to spot his or her sign receives everybody else's card and new cards are dealt out to all the players. The player who has won the most cards by the time all the pack has been dealt is the winner. Another version of this game which generally takes longer to play is for players to retain their cards as they spot their signs, simply taking a new card from the pack to give them a new target.

The super spy game
This game calls for preparation in advance. Using a small-scale map of the route you are going to take, work out a "play stretch" of the road from point A to point B. Each player now makes his or her estimate — on paper — of what he or she thinks you are going to see on that stretch of your journey ... how many sets of traffic lights, railway bridges, side streets and any other objects you have all agreed upon.

When you set off, each player takes over another person's estimate to check it off against the "play stretch" and each player is responsible for keeping a tally of one particular object. The winner is the one whose guess was nearest. If you prefer, you could split into two teams to play this game. Divide the objects into two groups and let the teams keep a tally of one group each.